Captiva 10/27/18 – 11/2/18
Saturday 10/27/18 — Fly to Ft Myers, Dinner at Lazy
-UA742, upgraded, departed an hour or so late. Crack engine, switched plans
-Only half our luggage made it to RSW. We waited at the airport for the next flight
-Watched Purdue / Mich St game, comp’d lunch
-Checked into Lands End 1626 at about 3pm. Sharing condo with Ian and Leslie
-Luggage getting really heavy.
-Room has view of Red Fish Pass and 6th tee
-It was windy and warm, partly cloudy with late afternoon light reflecting nicely off the birds
-Big, big waves. Surprisingly big.
-Cocktail hour, as normal
-Lazy Flamingo at 7pm. Not too crowded
-To bed by 9pm
Sunday 10/28/18
-Slept in late, about 9:30
-Cool, windy. Not good for kayaking
-Ian taking pictures with his new camera
-I took a bunch of really nice osprey pictures at the condo
-Cathie went to the hot tub
-Lunch in the Condo
-Golf at 2-4pm
–Lots of birds
–Very windy, coolish
-Ding Darling
–Went there and it was nearly high tide, we had low expectations
–Lots of birds! Roseate Spoonbills, White Pelicans, Little Blue Heron
–Mangrove Cookcoo!
–Stopped 3 full times, lots of other people
–500mm lens, and Ian’s new camera
-Sunset Grill restaurant — not busy
-Back to the condo by 9pm
Monday 10/29/18
-Ian and I worked on photos from Ding Darling
-AM at the pool. Hot tub. Family from Germany
-Lunch at Condo
-Golf at 2pm.
-Captiva Cruises sunset. Elliot was our host. Catches sharks for research job
-Dinner at Keylime Bistro. Liked the piano player
Tuesday 10/30/18
-Very calm weather, no clouds, no wind, 70 degrees
-8:45am Kayaking
-Paddle around Buck Key
–Brian was happy that we were back. Red Tide hurt their business.
–Down Roosevelt channel, with the tidal current
–Back up Pine Island Sound on the far side, against the tidal current
–Half way up, Ian and Leslie joined us
–Cathie and I finished after 2.5 hours
–Ian and Leslie finished probably an hour later following the crab pot lines further North
–Brian’s Granddaughter and friend took care of us.
–Lots of Yellow-Crown Night herons
–Dolphin, Bald Eagle, no Manetee
–Rays, crabs
-Light lunch at condo
-I had an important work call at 2pm
-Golf at 4:30pm
–calm, clear sky, some wind, not crowded
–Had fun, again
-Cocktail hour on patio
-Dinner at Mucky Duck
Wednesday 10/31/18
-Kayaked with Sunny Island Adventures
–I called Brian and his staff was taking out a tour group
–This is the service affiliated with the T-Dock at South Seas
–Lots of tree trimming, kinda annoying
–Good, hard, paddle to Chadwick’s Bayou and Marina Villas docking area
–Boats were sit on tops with too short paddles. Had to “canoe” them. Slow
–Usual wildlife: visited sand bar with lots of birds
–Out for 2 hours
-Then golf at 2:30, then dinner
-Dinner at Mad Hatter
–Fantastic!
Thursday 11/1/18
-Captiva Cruise ride to Cayo Casta State Park
–We stayed at the beach for 4 hours, beautiful
–Ian brought a sunshield/tent for us
–I bought a beach chair.
–We found nice shells, the water was nice, and the sky was clear
–Wilson’s Plover/Ruddy Turnstone and Snowy plovers visited us
–Nice boat ride: going up using the Gulf route because it was calm, going back Intercoastal waterway.
-Dinner at Doc Fords — Just Ian and Me. Cathie needed to stay at the condo to relax
-7pm call
-Stayed up Late, sore legs
Friday 11/2/18
-Breezy, warm day
-Kayaked with Brian.
–Tide coming in, wind from South, choppy waters
–Went around North side of Buck Key
–Waves too big, back tracked and went through mangrove tunnel
–Headed South along Roosevelt Channel
–Turned around halfway down, too windy
–Landed back at Tween Waters after 1:45.
–Saw manatee, fewer birds
-Pack and Ship, arranged for golf clubs return home
-Golf at 2:30
-Cocktail Hour
-Power outage
-Drove to Sanibel for dinner: Island Cow, good but too much food
-Power back on, back at condo to pack
-Leg still hurts, very itchy
